- #1
dr_k
- 69
- 0
Although I retired from active physics research almost 2 decades ago, there's a question that has annoyed/intrigued me for almost 40 years...
In Classical Field Theory, matter has 2 intrinsic properties, namely mass and charge. Given Newton's 2nd Postulate, [tex]{\bf F}_{net} = m {\bf a},[/tex] I've always wondered why the expansion/contraction, m, of the acceleration [tex]{\bf a}[/tex] isn't a scalar function of mass and charge, i.e. [tex]{\bf F}_{net} = f(m,q) {\bf a}[/tex] where f(m,q) = m + (negligible terms) except in extreme/rare situations that are experimental outliers, e.g. extreme cosmological physical situations. Although Newton's 2nd Postulate is...an a priori postulate, an educated guess that agrees w/ common everyday classical empirical phenomena, is there any mathematical basis, from Classical Field theory, that forces [tex]f(m,q) = m[/tex] precisely?
In Classical Field Theory, matter has 2 intrinsic properties, namely mass and charge. Given Newton's 2nd Postulate, [tex]{\bf F}_{net} = m {\bf a},[/tex] I've always wondered why the expansion/contraction, m, of the acceleration [tex]{\bf a}[/tex] isn't a scalar function of mass and charge, i.e. [tex]{\bf F}_{net} = f(m,q) {\bf a}[/tex] where f(m,q) = m + (negligible terms) except in extreme/rare situations that are experimental outliers, e.g. extreme cosmological physical situations. Although Newton's 2nd Postulate is...an a priori postulate, an educated guess that agrees w/ common everyday classical empirical phenomena, is there any mathematical basis, from Classical Field theory, that forces [tex]f(m,q) = m[/tex] precisely?